Australia Ministerial Direction 111: University Sector's Experts Not Pleased

Study in Australia: The Australian government has replaced Ministerial Direction 107 with MD 111. Commenting on that Go8 Chief Executive Vicki Thomson said, that the government has replaced one flawed process with another.

Go8 Chief Executive Vicki Thomson has released a statement and said, “The Government has acknowledged that our international student visa system must be underpinned by integrity and quality. However, by replacing one flawed process with another – effectively a ‘slowdown in processing’– it has shifted the goal posts yet again. We run the risk of confusing the international student market with these constant changes to policy settings. For too many potential students, it makes Australia look too hard and too unwelcoming as a higher education destination."

Prioritisation Threshold Basis Is Unclear

"High, processing will apply to Student visa applications associated with providers who have not yet reached their prioritisation threshold, which is 80 percent of their 2025 indicative allocation of new overseas student commencements in the higher education and Vocational Education and Training sectors," said the government statement.

While commenting on this Vicki Thomson said, "Having set targets for each Australian university’s international enrolments for 2025, it makes no sense that prompt Government support in processing visas will only apply to 80% of that target. Once more Government policy seems designed to leave significant budget holes for Australian universities, without financial compensation. In the absence of a legislated cap, the Government has set a ‘Prioritisation Threshold” – the basis of which remains unclear. Even more bewildering is the fact that the Direction allows for processing to be slowed down once this threshold reaches 80 percent – not the full threshold."

"Despite there being no legislative basis for setting international student numbers, our universities have set budgets based on a number provided to them by Government several months ago. Now, with just days before the end of the year, and with little apparent rationale, this number has shifted again.In effect this is a backdoor to caps for all the wrong reasons, it fails to address the structural funding issues our universities face and will lead to even greater confusion for our international students. We must exercise caution when introducing a new visa policy for international education in the absence of broader structural reform," added Vicki Thomson.

RMIT University Welcomes Implementation Of MD 111

The university has not only welcomed MD 111 but said that it provided much-needed clarity for the university sector.

"We support a managed growth policy approach rather than exclusively relying on student visa processing to manage migration. This approach provides international students with certainty and ensures that Australia maintains its reputation as a welcoming place to study and live," says RMIT University statement.

"The role of universities is to support the nation with the skills most in demand to ensure the prosperity of Australia. A whole of tertiary system approach is required with all agencies working together to respond to the needs of the sector into the future," added RMIT statement.

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